1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of automated typesetting and more particularly relates to a method and apparatus for composing typographical artwork on color sensitive photographic medium.
2. State of the Prior Art
Ornamental fonts, that is, artistically rendered lettering, is presently used in a variety of print and visual media. For example, advertising copy, titles and headings in magazines, television station logos, motion picture titles and credits are just a few of the many uses for ornamental fonts. A wide variety of font designs exist, each design giving rise to an entire alphabet based on a common motif or appearance. The font may have a three dimensional appearance, including beveled edges and drop shadows. The letters may be rendered so as to impart the appearance of metallic reflections, of a chromed surface, color, light and shadow effects and an almost infinite number of combinations and variations, limited only by the artist's creativity and skill. Each character is individually rendered by an artist by elaborate and time consuming processes, onto a sheet of transparency film to create the desired composition. This procedure is tedious and makes such artistic typographical work very expensive as well as time consuming.
Where the typographical composition is to be of a monochrome nature, it is possible to use more economical photographic methods for preparing the typographical layout. The individual type characters may be stored, as for example, on photographic film and projected one by one onto a single sheet of photosensitive material. The letters are positioned on the photographic sheet so as to compose the desired layout. The composition is carried out visually by an operator who selects the individual characters and projects their images onto the desired location on the photographic sheet so as to compose the layout. This kind of photocomposition is possible for monochrome material because the photographic emulsion is relatively insensitive to selected wave lengths of radiation. Thus, it is possible to visually create a composition under red light, known as a "safe light," without exposing the monochrome photographic sheet. The images of the characters may be projected through a safe light filter onto the photographic material, such that their position and appearance are visible to the operator, but without exposing the photosensitive emulsion.
It is presently accepted in the industry that photocomposition of colored typographical artwork is not possible because color sensitive photographic material is sensitive to all wave lengths of visible radiation and such composition, therefore, cannot be carried out under a safe light by the aforementioned visual method. As a result, it is presently necessary to resort to the aforedescribed cut and paste methods of composing the typographic layouts.
There are, however, known optical and photographic devices which, due to their inherent flexibility and ability to be programmed to operate in various desired modes, could be adapted to operate in the manner disclosed herein. These devices include motion control animation cameras which are operated by servo-mechanisms under computer control. These devices are normally used to take multiple image photographs of objects placed on a movable table under a servo controlled camera. Such an animation stand with rotoscope capabilities could be adapted to perform the method disclosed herein by using the camera to project images onto the movable table and properly programming the computer. However no such use of these animation stands has heretofore been attempted, and such application is unknown in the industry. The scope of the present invention, therefore, extends to the use of existing animation stands and similar equipment which may be programmed to perform the novel process disclosed by this specification.